The present application claims priority to Taiwan application No. 089119026, entitled xe2x80x9cA Method and System for Interaction between a Browser Engine and an Application,xe2x80x9d filed on Sep. 14, 2000.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for interaction between a browser engine and an application.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the rise of the Internet, browser applications, such as Microsoft""s Internet Explore and Netscape""s Navigator, have become essential applications on computers used for network communication. The convenience afforded by being able to download applications over the Internet and growing user demand for application upgrades, have made such downloading very popular, particular in the period after a new browser application is released.
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram of a prior art browser application 10 and FIG. 2 is a perspective diagram of a user interface 30 of the browser application 10 in FIG. 1. The browser application 10 comprises an initiation module 12 to initiate the browser application 10, a plurality of function modules 14, a user interface generation module 16 for generating a user interface 30, and a browser engine 18. The browser engine 18 comprises a download module 22 and a plurality of communication modules 24.
As shown in FIG. 2, the user interface 30 comprises a web page display area 32 and a plurality of application function icons 34. The download module 22 is used to download a web page 36 from a server, the web page 36 then being displayed in the web page display area 32. The web page 36 comprises a plurality of communication icons 38. Each of the communication icons 38 corresponds to a communication module 24. When one communication icon 38 is selected, the browser engine 18 initiates the communication module 24, which corresponds to that particular communication icon 38 for network communication.
The prior art browser application comprises a browser engine, and application function modules. However, in a new version browser application, only the application function modules are updated so that the new version browser application can have more application functions, while the browser engine is not updated.
In addition, the fact that the browser engine 18 is part of the browser application package directly attributes to the massive size of the application and causes network congestion when downloading. Accordingly, the users have to spend a lot of time updating applications via Internet downloads. In such a situation, the users have to decide whether to forgo updating or spend time and money on time-consuming downloading.
In other words, during an update of the browser application, users have to download a full package browser application, including application function modules and a browser engine, despite the fact that it is the application function modules that are updated and not the browser engine. Indeed, the browser engine does not need to be updated and therefore downloaded from the server.
The primary objective of the present invention is therefore to provide a method and system for interaction between a browser engine and an application that resolves the above-mentioned problems.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a method and system for interaction between a browser engine and an application. The application comprises a plurality of function modules. When the application is initiated, it sends a request to the browser engine. After the browser engine receives the request, it downloads a browser display in response to said request. The browser display comprises a plurality of function icons. Each of the function icons corresponds to one of the function modules of the application. When users select any of the function icons on the browser display, the browser engine initiates the function module of the application corresponding to the function icon chosen to render a specific function.
The feature of the application according to the present invention lies in the fact that the application serves the same functions as the prior art browser application, via its method and system for interaction between a browser engine and the application.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after having read the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.